Hannegrid Minnetravajaar History

Hannegrid's Family

It was a dark and stormy night when Hannegrid Minnetravajaar was born, first daughter and third child, to a Vestenmannavnjar family. As the midwife was wrapping the new-born girl in a blanket the skaerjen pushed his way past the burly father hovering in the doorway. The two older boys aged four and six rushed to the room, but were prevented from entering by their father's outstretched hand and disapproving look.

The rune-mage pulled out several carved stones from his pouch and caste them upon the ground. Despite his grey hair and lack of teeth the old man moved with remarkable grace as he bent down to peer at the runes engraved on the stones.

"Hmmm, interesting." The old man gathered up the runes and dropped them in to his pouch.

"Well, what do they say?" demanded the anxious father looming in the doorway. His gaze flickered between his sleeping wife, crying new-born child and sorrowful looking old man in turn. When he caught sight of the old man's mournful expression his breath caught in his throat and his face turned pale.

"She will be a beautiful child," the skaerjen looked past the large man, staring off in to space as if he was gazing in to another world. "But when she grows up she will have a rebellious nature and may cause ruin."

"Ruin?" The father's body shook with a building rage. His two sons scampered away and dashed to the warmth of the kitchen hearth. "No daughter of mine will bring Ruin to this household!"

"Peace, my son. I am merely the messenger." The old man made a move towards the door, but the larger man did not move from where he stood. "The runes also tell that when she returns from her Journey that you may not recognise her at first. Fear not, for she will be the same daughter that you will raised and loved."

The midwife sat anxiously watching the exchange between the two men, clutching the newborn child to her bosom. When the father finally stepped back from the doorway she let out a sigh of relief. The baby began to cry and the midwife crooned an old wordless melody to soothe the child. "Don't you be doing anything silly. Make us proud - daughter of the Vestenmannavnjar," the midwife whispered gently as she kissed the baby and laid her back in her mother's arms.

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Years passed and the family in to which Hannegrid was born was blessed with four more children. Two of them died during infancy from disease and the third was lost overboard on his first fishing trip at the age of twelve. Only the youngest survived to maturity, along with Hannegrid and her two elder brothers. Perhaps it was because of the warning that the rune-mage had given Hannegrid's father at her birth, or simply the fact that trouble always seemed to follow the attractive young Vestenmannavnjar maid - that she was kept away from others in the village for fear that she would cause grief to the other households.

At first Hannegrid thought that she was being kept apart because there was something special about her. But as she grew older and managed to get away from her parents more often she learned from one of the other girls in the village that it was simply because she had a reputation for causing grief and trouble. Hurt by the accusation for something that she had not committed and the way that she was treated by some of the other village-folk; Hannegrid began to dream of life outside the village.

One summer when she had just turned fifteen and her father and brothers had set sail to go fishing, raid the outlying Vendel settlements and inspect the goods of Montaigne trading vessels; Hannegrid made her bid for freedom and ran away to Kirk. Her three day journey was not quite the glorious escape to a better life that she had dreamt off. Along the way she had to resort to stealing to get food and 'borrowing' a row-boat to cross some water. Sneaking in to barns to sleep during the night as on the first night she almost froze from the cold. On the third morning a farm-hand stood over her as she woke up and she feared the worst. However, a shovel lying nearby ensured that she escaped unharmed and finally she reached her destination.

Cold, hungry and without coin Hannegrid suddenly felt very alone in a strange place. A passing servant took pity on her and brought her back to the manor house of a Vendel family where she was given food and a change of clothes. Later that day Hannegrid was approached by the head of the servants who offered her board and lodgings in exchange for her working in the house. Unbeknownst to Hannegrid the servant who had brought her to the house had been rewarded for brining in a cheap serving girl and she was awarded some of her salary.

Hannegrid was used to house-hold chores but the Vendel worked her very hard, from the earliest hours of the morning until late at night. When the Vendel has guests over it was even worse and some days she would fall asleep on the floor as she was scrubbing the paving stones. After being denied food as punishment for her misbehaviour some of the other serving girls gained a new-found respect for her and brought Hannegrid in to their confidence.

The other girls told her that they were worked so hard so that they did not have time to think of leaving to find a better job. They taught her how to complete her chores in a shorter time by cutting corners, but still making it look as if the job had been done well. Soon Hannegrid found herself with time on her hands and a new city to explore. Sneaking in and out of the house unnoticed proved a difficult task, but she learned that it was better to leave on 'errands' in broad daylight than to sneak out at night. Whilst on one of her errands she was asked to purchase some supplies by the other servants. Due to Hannegrid's good looks and friendly smile she was able to get the goods at a cheaper price. Within a short time period not only was she buying items for the other servants but also selling items on their behalf. It did not take Hannegrid long to figure out that she had become a courier in stolen goods and she asked for a cut of the profits.

It was during one of the visits to the household by Montaigne friends of the master that Hannegrid was approached and asked if she wanted to come and work in Montaigne. The promise of better pay, better board and more freedom were too powerful a lure for the young maid and she agreed to accompany the Montaigne family back to their homeland. Unbeknownst to her the head of the servants had arranged for Hannegrid to have her services sold to the family. He had watched as the young woman learned more and more of his dealings in stolen goods from Vendel households and had decided to remove the girl before she became a threat. The profit that he made out of her 'sale' was just a bonus.

Nothing could prepare Hannegrid for the life that she walked in to when she came to work for the Montaigne family. Not only did she receive less pay, worse lodging; but she saw first hand how decadent and depraved the Montaigne nobility had become. Floggings were regularly carried out on random servants and the whole household had an atmosphere of anger and terror. The only thing that kept Hannegrid going was her ability to procure extra food through sale of misplaced items. Within a short time she had set up a small network of her own for moving goods and things began to look up until she almost got caught.

Unsure of whether her employers were aware of her actions, Hannegrid felt more trapped and afraid than ever before. However, in this dark time a ray of light appeared in the form of a run-away servant who offered her an escape if she was willing to carry out a daring act. That act being the humiliation of the family in front of their peers. On the evening of a party that the Montaigne noble family, Hannegrid packed her bags and prepared to slip out in to the night. But before she left the house she rigged the chandelier so that it would fall down in the midst of the meal (by cunning use of a candle under the rope keeping the chandelier up). As a final touch she had made sure that some of the unlit candle holders had been filled with a repugnant smelling oil. This meant that when the chandelier fell down, not only would it set fire to the table - but also fill the room with the unbearable stench of burning skunk oil.

Since that night Hannegird has been on the run. She ran out of money and was forced to look for employment with another family, but she dreams of the day that she will be on the road again for bigger and brighter adventures.